Uturn debuts at local schools

BROOKE EDWARDS Staff Writer

Sunday

Sep 14, 2008 at 7:20 AM

VICTORVILLE — As schools kick off a new year, three are also launching a new program designed to keep kids in school and out of trouble.

"I'm hoping that, for some of our elementary age at-risk youth, that they really change their focus from gang involvement or gang activity to their future, and their career, to the possibility of going to college and having dreams that can support them," said Christa Erolin, principal at Del Rey Elementary School.

Del Rey Elementary, Irwin and Sixth Street Prep schools are the first to pilot Victorville's Uturn Prevention Program, developed by the city in response to the growing local gang problem.

"Having been in law enforcement, I see the reactive stuff all the time," said Councilman Bob Hunter, a key figure in developing Uturn. "What we need to do is cut off the supply of gang members, to teach the whole family, showing them how to be better parents and keep kids from being recruited."

Uturn targets at-risk elementary through junior high school students. The students and their families will commit to three years of participating in individual and family counseling, workshops, field trips and community service plus job training for adult family members.

The city will plan many of these activities for the schools together. For the first trip, scheduled soon, they'll take Uturners to the city library so they can get library cards and a lesson in how to use the facility.

Four students have been selected for the program so far at Sixth Street Prep School, according to principal Linda Mikels. Their families have filled out the paperwork and made the commitment to support their children.

Sixth Street Prep is a bit further along in implementing Uturn than the other schools, since they started their school year weeks earlier. Selected students have been joining in the after-school program, in its eighth year and offered through the city's park and recreation department.

Mikels is personally recommending students for the program, looking for "students who maybe find challenges either in their neighborhood or in their home with influences that might be of concern. It could be an older brother who is a dropout, or other siblings who were unsuccessful in school for whatever reason. We want to make sure we continue to talk about the day they go to college and escape from the cycle of poverty."

Erolin said Del Rey Elementary is still in the process of informing families about the program and accepting applications, as is Irwin School, according to principal Allan Miller. Erolin said they've done one presentation and plan to do another during Back to School Night on Sept. 17.

Del Rey administrators first heard about the program through their school resource officer, Deputy Kathy Vale with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Victorville station. They quickly got on board, sending several at-risk kids to a weeklong camp over the summer.

Uturn is also sponsoring 10 seats in Del Rey's existing after-school program, so that kids in Uturn can attend for free and get help with homework, rather than go home to an empty house.

Erolin said there is no set number for how many families will eventually be in the program, though she's certain they have plenty of families who could potentially qualify.

"We hope to help as many as possible," she said. "It's a great program and we're excited to have it here."

While the program will likely stay in just three schools this year, Hunter hopes to launch it in every elementary school in the district.

The program will continue to grow, he said, with the recent approval of a two-year contract for a San Bernardino County probation officer to help teach the Uturn curriculum full time in local schools.

Brooke Edwards may be reached at 955-5358 or at bedwards@vvdailypress.com.

By the numbers

• 3 local schools have implemented Uturn.• 4 students have been chosen for Uturn so far at Sixth Street Prep School.• 831 gang members and 26 gangs have been identified by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Victorville station as of February.• 2,000 gang members and 67 gangs have been identified in the High Desert.• $400,000 was given for Uturn as a grant from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $16.5 million gang initiative, California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Program, or CalGRIP.• 18 cities in California received CalGRIP funding.• 46 cities and 94 community organizations applied for funding.

How to help, how to be helped

Uturn is looking for more families and schools who would like to participate, along with local professionals who want to mentor at-risk students one-on-one.

For information on how to help or participate in the Uturn program, call the individual school or the city of Victorville's Marquita Ogolvie-Harper at 955-5203, or send an e-mail to moharper@ci.victorville.ca.us.

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